But first a little legal and medical coverage: Although I have a Master's degree in Applied Clinical Nutrition, I am not a physician. I do have extensive experience with eating the ketogenic way, and I cured my health problems with a ketogenic diet. I am not guaranteeing that this diet will work for you or cure your health problems. I am just sharing what I know about ketogenic diets. Click here for the full legal disclaimer.

But when you look at long-term results, there is very little difference between the two. 'Part of this is because adherence is very poor for low-carb diets in the long term – that is, people find it difficult to maintain a very low-carb diet, which suggests it's probably not sustainable to continue eating this way in the long-term,' says Dr Barclay.
Typically, this is caused by the liver dumping something. This happens because you’re losing lots of fat, and toxins are stored in your fat. As they come out of the system, these toxins can cause a rash. The solution? Consume more vegetables. Also, try bentonite clay. This clay attracts toxins by pulling them toward itself, and it is excreted through the stool.
Another common mistake that she sees is that people focus too much on macronutrients: "Micronutrients are really important too as ketosis is metabolically demanding and the diet is not nutritionally adequate most of the time." She says that most of her clients take multivitamins, carnitine supplements, calcium supplements and sometimes selenium or zinc.
These avocado bites (made only from freeze-dried avocado pieces and sea salt) are high in fat and have 7 grams of carbs per serving, making it a perfect portable keto-friendly snack. And if its low-carb appeal isn't enough, avocados are also full of fiber and potassium, she says, two nutrients that can be difficult to get enough of on the keto diet. "I recommend eating an avocado per day to most people on the keto diet, and these dried bites are a good way to help reach that goal," she says. Best part? They won't go brown like the avocado sitting on your kitchen counter.

The keto diet is one of the most effective that I’ve come across and one of the more straightforward (as opposed to easy!) to follow. In a nutshell, when you’re on a keto diet, you eat a very low-carb, high-fat diet. That means goodbye pasta and bread, hello cheese and oils. It’s pretty much the opposite of what we’ve been taught our entire lives. But it works if you follow the keto diet food list. Plus, you can make many favorite recipes keto-friendly.

Nuts or nut butters and seeds: Remember some nuts are fairly high in carbs (like peanuts, cashews, and pistachios). Stay away from any nut butters that have added polyunsaturated oils or “vegetable oils.” Choose higher fats choices, such as almonds or macadamia nuts, and seeds high in omega 3s like flaxseed and chia. Nuttzo is a great choice for a blend of good nuts. We, of course, make a delicious keto nut butter with MCTs and macadamia nuts. If you’re interested how nuts can affect you on a ketogenic diet, check out our Full Guide to Nuts on the Ketogenic Diet.

What else happens when we break down muscle glycogen? We lose water weight! Our muscles store about 3 grams of water for every gram of glycogen, meaning we can lose quite a bit of weight right away when we tap into glycogen stores for fuel. That's why someone who loses weight in "just one week!" from a low-carb plan is likely losing water weight, not necessarily real weight that stays off over time.
Generally, the ketogenic diet reduces or excludes carbohydrate-containing foods, including breads, breakfast cereals, pasta, rice, quinoa, couscous, starchy vegetables (potato, sweet potato, corn), fruit, and legumes. Instead you are encouraged to consume more high fat foods, such as fatty meats, full-cream dairy, butter, nuts, avocado, olive oil and coconut oil.
This green yet under-utilized vegetable is highly nutrient dense. It would have only 25 calories while giving you 77% of the daily allowance of vitamin C and high levels of vitamin K, vitamin B 1, vitamin B 2 and B 6. It also rich in omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, choline, biotin, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, niacin, pantothenic acid and protein.
A ketogenic diet plan is not a "special diet" that requires special foods. There is no need to buy any "low carb" packaged foods. Ketogenic foods are essentially just real, whole foods which are close to their natural state. In other words, they are not highly processed. The only exception to this is the category of artificial sweeteners. These are highly processed. However, I think these are important to include in a low carb diet plan, because a small amount of fake sweetener has less of a negative effect on health than the standard amounts of sugar in sweetened foods. Some people may prefer more natural sugar alcohol sweeteners, but studies have shown these are "antiketogenic" and can derail the process of ketosis for some. They effect each person differently, so you'll have to test to see if they effect your health or weight loss goals.
In the first week, many people report headaches, mental fogginess, dizziness, and aggravation. Most of the time, this is the result of your electrolytes being flushed out, as ketosis has a diuretic effect. Make sure you drink plenty of water and keep your sodium intake up.6One of the fathers of keto, Dr. Phinney, shows that electrolyte levels (especially sodium) can become unbalanced with low carb intake.